End connector device



Jan. 27, 1942. F M LUND |A| I 2,271,085

END CONNECTOR DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1940 NVELN'TOQS/ @ed W {QQ/27d O/'on CP/Xand /Qwhwl me.. OTTOQv/ Patented Jan. 27, 1942 roman] STATES PATENT- OFFICE! p @371,085 Y ENn CONNECTORv DEVICE y Brea Lund and John H. Luna, ohieagaiu. Application February 14, 1940, Serial No. 318,838 y v (C1. z i-fcso) 3 Claims.

l'The invention relates to connecting devices and more particularly to devices for securing an end of a flexible cord or like element to such an article, for example, as apiece of jewelry.

An object of the invention is to-provide a new and improved device of this characterwhich is especially well adapted to establish a secure connection between such relatively small parts as the case of a wrist watch and the flexible cord or like member by which the case is held on .the u .wearers wrist, and which embodies a simply formed member havingimproved structural features whereby the lmember may be permanently attachedto a cord and securely assembled with its coacting part. y

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following `description' and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a wrist watch case having supporting elements secured thereto by connecting devices which embody the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section on a greatly enlarged scale through the connector taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the connector on a similarly enlarged scale.

The end connector devices, with which the present invention is primarily concerned, are the comparatively small devices by which articles of jewelry such as bracelets, ladies wrist watches, and the like, may be joined or secured to a supporting band, strap or cord. Recently, silk cords fashioned of woven or braided threads have become popular, but due to the inherent characteristics of such cords a permanent connection between the cords and an associated article is quite diflicult to obtain. Thus, silk cords of this nature are compressible, resilient, and smooth surfaced so that the cords tend to slip easily through more or less conventional cord gripping means. tions ordinarily tend to unravel and offer little resistance to an endwise separating pull on a cord gripping means. n

These difficulties have been overcome according to the present invention by providing an end fastening device which embraces the end of the cord and constricts it into a hard compact mass and which includes means extending longitudinally of the device and projecting into the compacted cord to insure permanency of the connection.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I0 designates braided, woven or similar cords fash- Moreover, the cord end por-` ioned of silk, artificial silk, leather, fabricated metal', or similar materials which are smooth surfaced, resiliently yieldable and compressible, and are herein shown as being the means by which a wrist watch I I is supported on a wearers wrist. Such cords may have a diameter on the order of three millimeters and it is, of course, essential that the connection thereof with the Watch case be permanent against accidental separation and be practically unnoticeable.

The "connector device, as illustrated, com# prises `a sleeve or collar I2 preferably fashioned from thin gauge resilient metal such as stainless steel. The collar is preferably in the form of a U-shaped channel having the longitudinal marginal portions I3 thereof bent inwardly toward eachv other and thence into the channel. fThe margins are preferably'serrated or toothed', as indicated at I4, for more secure engagement with the cord. The collar is so" dimensioned that the cord must be compressed to t it into the channel before the marginal portions are bent over, whereby the bending operation further compresses the cord into a firm hard mass. The inturned margins which enter the channel materially increase the compression along an axial line of the cord with the result that the collar and cord, even though they are small, cannot be separated by a force substantially in excess of that to which the device might be subjected.

The collarvincludes means for readily securing it in a complementary bore I5 on a part I6 of the watch case. Thus, the channel base wall I'I (or the side of the channel opposite to the interned marginal portions I3) has a small tongue I8 struck outwardly therefrom to eX- tend longitudinally of the collar. The end portion of the tongue, as shown, is preferably turned into parallelism with the collar wall. The collar is assembled on the cord with the tongue directed away from the free end of the assembly and, therefore, may engage behind a shoulder or other abutment on the part I6 to prevent withdrawal of the collar and cord end from the bore. In this instance, the part I6 is apertured, as at I9, to present a margin of the aperture for engagement by the tongue. The end portion of the tongue, being parallel with the line of a separating pull, avoids the possibility that the tongue will become accidentally disengaged from the abutment.

The tongue is, as mentioned, stamped or cut from the collar. Due to the small dimensions of the parts, a serious diiiiculty arises since little or no side clearance can be provided between the tongue and the slot ZIJ formed by the removal of the tongue material. Moreover, the slot margins are usually somewhat uneven or rough. Under these conditions, should the collar be slipped into the close fitting bore l5 and the tongue forced toward the collar wall and more or less into the slot 20, the lack of clearance and the uneven slot edges might grip the nbent tongue and hold it against return by its inherent resiliency into engagement with the aperture I 9.

Means is, therefore, provided for guarding the tongue and for limiting the extent of its inward movement, which means is also eiective to insure a close ft of the collar in the bore and to prevent relative rotation therebetween. To this end, the collar is bent in the forming operation to provide an outstanding rib 2l on each side of the tongue and dening therebetween a channel 22. The tongue and ribs are dimensioned so that the free end of the tongue projects above the plane of the outer faces of the ribs a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the metal. Accordingly, in the insertion of the collar into a bore internally shaped according to the outside outlines of the collar (but not necessarily fitting into the groove between the inturned margins I3 and not including a rib complementary to the channel 22), the tongue will be depressed only slightly; it will not enter the slot 20 and will move into holding engagement with the aperture l 9 when these parts register. The angularity of the collar prevents rotation thereof in the bore and the outwardly extending ribs not only guard the tongue but eliminate play between the tongue side of the collar and the bore.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, we have shown in the drawing and have'herein described in detail the preferred embodiment, but it is to be understood that we do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specinc form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling Within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an end connector device of the character described, the combination of a generally 4U- shaped member adapted to receive therein the compressed end portion of a resilient cord, said member including longitudinal marginal portions each bent into edgewise engagement with the cord, spaced longitudinally extending ribs on the side of said member opposite to said marginal portion, anda longitudinally directed tongue projecting outwardly between and beyond the plane of the outer surfaces of saidribs.

2. In a connector device for cooperation with a part having a device receiving bore and internal engageable means, the combination of a member generally dimensioned snugly to nt said bore, said member having a section stamped from one face thereof to provide a flexible projection for coaction with said engageable means, and guard means on said member adjacent said flexible projection for preventing complete iiexing of said projection toward said face as said member is inserted into vsaid bore.

3. In a connector device of the character described, the combination of a member adapted to be secured to an element to be connected, spaced longitudinally extending means on said member, and a longitudinally directed resilient tongue projecting outwardly between said means on said member, said member being fashioned for insertion into a complemental part and said means being dimensioned to limit movement of said tongue toward said member during such insertion.

FRED M. LUND. JACK H. LUND. 

